Dot matrix displays are used in a number of applications and offer considerable advantages because they can be implemented using relatively inexpensive components and can also offer relatively low power consumption. Dot matrix displays are commonly used in retail establishments checkout systems for both retail employee operated and customer operated input and output devices.
The needs of retailers and others who use devices employing dot matrix displays are constantly changing, and different users often have different needs. The visual appearance of a dot matrix display may be an important aspect of a retailer's interface with a customer. Certain designs may be particularly appealing or eye catching, and different designs may be desirable in different applications. Moreover, a manufacturer of dot matrix display devices may wish to experiment with different designs in order to determine which designs are best for the needs of a particular customer, or to offer a variety of different designs. Prior art methods of producing dot matrix designs are complex and time consuming. A design must be manually created and then visually evaluated. This may be accomplished, for example, by making a drawing and then furnishing the drawing to decision making personnel for review. Changes to the design may be suggested and the drawing can be changed in accordance with these suggestions. At various points in the design process, working or non-working prototypes can be fabricated for evaluation. If changes to the prototype design are desired, new drawings and prototypes can be produced, with the design stages continuing until a satisfactory design is arrived at and put into production.
Drawings can be made using software drawing tools, but these drawings lack many of the features of an actual operating display, and can only approximate the appearance of the display. Moreover, making changes to drawings is time consuming. A prototype display can provide an exact representation of a design, but making changes to the design requires fabrication of a new prototype display, a time consuming and expensive process.
The need to manually implement sample designs, evaluate the designs, and then manually implement desired changes adds greatly to the time and expense required to create a desired design. The time and cost of design creation naturally limits the variety of designs which a manufacturer is likely to offer, and limits the ability of a manufacturer to create custom designs in an inexpensive and timely manner.
There exists, therefore, a need for a quick, inexpensive and flexible way to create and evaluate dot matrix designs, allowing for modification of design features as desired and allowing a designer or evaluator to view desired aspects of a design.